Dawkins' Documentary: Root of all evil

[K. A. Pital]

Sure, I never insist on finishing debates that much. When time runs out, I just leave it, so I'm fine.

Thanks for the discussion. Interesting indeed.

[Dread Not]

I think that, creepier than the minister and muslim near the beginnning in the first part, was the guy who advocated execution for adultery. It's almost like he's wearing a 'modern mask' over a more barbaric person.

I also found it bizarre that Dawkins said afterwards that he quite liked him. The guy was clearly a complete lunatic and had a seriously twisted idea of justice. Although I did like the quote Dawkins included there by Stephen Weinberg.

I also found his comment at the end especially inspiring: All of us are one day going to die, which makes us the lucky ones, because most people will never be born at all.

[wautd]

I think that, creepier than the minister and muslim near the beginnning in the first part, was the guy who advocated execution for adultery. It's almost like he's wearing a 'modern mask' over a more barbaric person.

Although I did like the quote Dawkins included there by Stephen Weinberg.

My favorite part as well:

With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.

[Illuminatus Primus]

I've never understood why religion's apologists shrink back to this, "don't single out religion" argument. Surely the fact it stamps out individual, critical thought and earnest knowledge is bad and simply bad. The fact that other beliefs and entities encourage the same problems and cause many of the appalling human costs defends religion, how? Is it really any service to religion to point out Communists smashing in skulls and burying people in killing fields? Or shooting them en masse?

[K. A. Pital]

Is it really any service to religion to point out Communists smashing in skulls and burying people in killing fields? Or shooting them en masse?

Actually, it is. "Claim opression". Say that you were opressed - by the Commies, for example - and for the good cause, and then religion looks on itself as a victim...

The most common reply of religionists is "look how bad Commies are, commies are atheist blah blah blah" without even realising that communism evolved from a scientific research to a cultic quasi-religion in some places. And a cultic quasi-religion is bad precisely BECAUSE it has religious traits, not because it's "anti-religious". Cultic quasi-religion can struggle for domination with other religiouns, just like religions quarry between themselves.

[drachefly]

Communism was ever scientific? I hope you're thinking of a different scientist than Marx.

[Illuminatus Primus]

That's retarded. Marxism is chock-full of, and at the root the direct product of fundamental axioms without a shred of proof, and are totally unfalsifiable. They fail the most basic test of what is science, and "scientific" Marxism is just the pretentions of wannabe social "scientists." The fact that real world scientific economics is essentially distinct from Marxism marks it as the phrenology of the economics world, not the Newtonian physics.

[Surlethe]

The fact that other beliefs and entities encourage the same problems and cause many of the appalling human costs defends religion, how?

It doesn't; religious apologists have elevated the tu quoque to an art.